An Ostrich Horse (Or Three)
by Karussell
Summary: An Ostrich Horse (Or Three) : He'd been prepared for her to know already that the boy and his uncle hadn't been refugees at all, hadn't been Lee and Mushi at all, but it didn't seem like she had made a connection between Lee and Prince Zuko at all. : Zuko and Song
1. Chika, Iseul and Fu

Slight AU, because Iroh is Fire Lord in this.

* * *

**An Ostrich Horse (Or Three)**

[101 AG]

[A Small Farming Village]

He inhaled deeply.

His heart, he felt, was hammering hard enough against his ribcage to break it open and escape - any moment now -, and he couldn't blame it for wanting to flee - if he could, he'd turn around and leave, as well, but he couldn't.

He wouldn't ever forgive himself if he did.

A beak pressed against his shoulder, and Zuko looked up into the dark eyes of one of the ostrich horses, rather young still, barely more than a chick foal, really, this one responding to Chika now, thanks to Aang, who had given each of the animals a name - despite being told not to do so, as they had not been bought to keep, they had been bought to repay a debt, one of many he couldn't quite forget, that still crept up on him from time to time.

He had been shown kindness and repaid it by stealing from the very people who'd healed his uncle and fed them dinner, and it was time he apoligized for it.

Though a small part of him wished he hadn't asked Aang to stay with Appa.

Aang'd always had a way with people, one smile and they were wrapped around his little finger, one smile and everything was forgiven, in most cases anyway, but, he supposed, this wasn't Aang's journey to forgiveness, because Aang had already made that journey.

Now, it was his turn to right the last remaining wrongs.

He patted Chika's neck and scratched behind her ears.

"Let's do this. Keep an eye on Iseul and Fu while I knock, alright? You're much better behaved than the two of them, so I trust you with that."

The animal blinked.

He smiled.

"Alright."

With no more reason to stand still, he took another deep breath and finally climbed the few steps leading up to the house lived in by Song and her mother, whose name he'd never even caught, he realized, but then, it had only been one evening in three mostly horrible years, and he hadn't expected to ever come back here again.

He knocked.

The door swung open almost immediatly and the girl, Song, smiled up at him.

"I'd wondered how long you'd-"

Her smile vanished.

"... Lee?"

And he knew the news of the Fire Prince with the scarred face had travelled through the Earth Kingdom, all through the world, because he was recognized constantly, everywhere. They'd been recognized when buying the ostrich horses. He'd been prepared for her to know already that the boy and his uncle hadn't been refugees at all, hadn't been Lee and Mushi at all, but it didn't seem like she had made a connection between Lee and Prince Zuko at all.

So, for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Uh ... yes ... but also no."

She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What?"

"Lee is who I introduced myself as to you. It is the alias I went by at the time, so I am him, but ... it's not my real name. I'm here, because ... because, well, I stole your ostrich horse and ... I ... I don't have her, anymore, the ostrich horse I took, I mean, but ... I've brought you three new ones, to ... maybe make up for the theft. They're over there. My friend gave them names, I hope that doesn't bother you ..."

"And what is yours?"

"What?"

"Your name. If it isn't Lee."

"Oh."

He swallowed.

"Zuko. My name is Zuko. Prince of the Fire Nation, son of-"

He cut himself off when he realized her already big, dark eyes had widened further.

"But I'm not here as a prince. I'm here as a man trying to do better."

She didn't even blink.

"I'm sorry for taking your ostrich horse. Would you like to meet Chika, Fu and Iseul?"

"Who?"

"The chick foals ... ?"

He gestured behind him, then turned around to look at the the three ostrich horses, Chika staring intently at the other two as if she'd understood exactly the mission she'd been given by Zuko, while Fu was grazing calmly and Iseul cleaned her plumage.

"I ... yes, I guess. Yes, I would. Are you ... are you really a prince?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for deceiving you, as well. At the time ... Well, let's just say I wasn't in the best place. We weren't, my uncle and I."

"The Fire Lord", she mumbled.

"Yes."

She wasn't star-struck, like Fire Nation girls were when they met him - or just about every other girl in the world was when they met Aang or Sokka -, she just seemed to have trouble with reconciling the memory of Lee and Mushi with the young man standing before her now, declaring himself royalty.

"I know this must come as a huge surprise to you. I'm sorry. For ... everything. I ... Lying and stealing and just ... showing up here, but ... I don't know ... I came to apologize, which I did, and to bring the ostrich horses, which I did, so ... maybe I should leave now ... leave you be."

Which made her blink, at least.

"No. No, you don't have to leave. You wanted to introduce me to the ostrich horses, right?"

"Of course! As I said, Aang named them all already. I told him not to, but he never listens, and now they listen to their names, so-"

"It's fine."

She smiled carefully.

He smiled back.


	2. Another Apology

**An Ostrich Horse or Three**

[101 AG]

[A Small Farming Village]

When he'd last stepped foot into the small house Song called her home, he had been confused and angry, so very deep down that he he hadn't quite known how to function when he'd finally found his way months later, and now here he was again, the Crown Prince at last, finally sure of himself, and everything was very awkward despite the girl smiling at him.

"Thank you", he said quietly when she put the kettle down and grabbed his cup, inhaled deeply, because firebending was all about breathing and that came in very handy for a man whose heart began racing when thinking about his past and when thinking about his future, the present, too, and when facing a pretty girl.

Or a girl whose ostrich horse he had stolen.

Not that she wasn't pretty.

Because she was.

Very, actually.

He sipped the tea and burned his tongue.

Song was smiling, still, a little more thoughtfully now, her gaze flickering over the left side of his face every other second, and he resisted the urge to reach up, bit his lip instead.

"Oh", she said while fiddling with her cup, "I still owe you an apology as well, I think. I mean, ... I definitely do."

Zuko frowned.

"What? No. What for?"

"I tried touching you. Your scar. That wasn't okay, it never is, because you didn't say I could and I still tried and that was just ... really shitty. So I'm sorry. We barely knew eachother - we don't know eachother now - and I know how ... I know I didn't like people touching or even looking at my scar ... at first. And it's ... it's much less noticeable than yours, ... because I can cover it up. I'm sorry."

"No."

He shook his head.

"No, no. I ... overreacted. I grabbed your wrist pretty hard. If anything, I should-"

"Zuko."

Her voice was quiet.

A little unsure.

It wasn't everyday one had to interrupt princes, after all.

It wasn't everyday that he got interrupted, either.

Not anymore, anyway.

"You most definitely didn't overreact. I was out of line, I shouldn't have done what I did. Well, attempted to do. And I sat on your left, too, I couldn't even know if you'd see my hand. I was basically sneaking up on you, which makes everything even worse", she said firmly.

"I can see with my left eye", he mumbled. "Just not all that ... well."

"I apologize for bringing it up."

"It's alright. It ... truly is. Maybe we could stop apologizing and enjoy our tea before it gets too cold. Or I could heat it up again if it already has gotten too cold, if you want, you'd just have to give me your cup and I could ..."

Breathe in deeply.

Song tilted her head.

"Let's enjoy our tea."

He hid a smile behind his cup.


End file.
